


















































































































































LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 


LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




































































































































MA.NTJAX, 


Op' 


TELEGEAPHY, 


DESIGNED FOR BEGINNERS. 


BY J. E. SMITH. 

*) 



POUGHKEEPSIE. 

ISAAC PLATT & SON, PRINTERS, 310 MAIN STREET. 

1 8 65 . 

X 


/ 



4 














} r r 



J. E. SMITH, 

In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court for the Southern District of Neiv York. 



V 


V 






INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 


Although the principal design of this, work is to instruct in 
the art of reading by sound , yet those who desire to acquire the 
faculty of reading from paper, will find the instructions equally 
well suited to their wants, it being impossible to give directions 
adapted to sound reading which are not applicable to reading 
by sight; indeed, every one pursuing the latter method is, in 
reality, governed quite as much by the clicks of the register, as 
by the impression which it makes. 

The system of instruction adopted in the first part is the re¬ 
sult of close and long continued observation. It not only tells 
the student precisely how to proceed in the formation of nearly 
every character, but, in showing the right way, depends much 
on pointing out to him, where and how he is likely to fail. 
Like observation has also made it clear that the Morse characters 
should never be placed before the student in alphabetical order. 
This part is intended to be practiced and mastered as fast as 
read. 

The second part, in setting forth the construction of a tele¬ 
graph line and the principles on which it is operated, although 
drawing to some extent on the imagination, aims to instruct 
synthetically by commencing with the fundamental principles 
of electro-magnets, and explaining addition after addition until 
a full line is pictured, as well as the various obstacles arising 
to impede or interrupt its workings. History and theory are 
entirely discarded, the present condition of the telegraph and 
the known principles on which its working depends, being all 
that is valuable to the student. This portion may be studied 
in connection with the writing exercises, and it should be re¬ 
viewed a number of times. 

While it is believed that the student, in following the line of 
instruction as herein laid before him, will progress more rapidly 
then by the adoption of any other mode of proceedure, he is 



# 


4 

warned against falling into tlie too common error of expecting 
great results from little labor. There is no duty of a telegraph¬ 
ist which any person of ordinary abilities may not readily learn 
to perform, if he will but bestow the attention which he should 
willingly give to any undertaking. Students with a clear un¬ 
derstanding of the customs and principles set forth in these in¬ 
structions, and able to copy each others telegraphic writing by 
sound at the rate of thirty-five words per minute, may consider 
themselves operators. 


PART I. 


Instructions in Manipulation and Business Forms. 



vtfit 


L or cipher T E I S H 


u v 


N D 


B 


8 


6 A 


F 


Comma Semicolon Quotation X 


W 


Parenthesis Q 2 Period 8 M 

Gr 7 5 Exclamation Paragraph. 9 


Interrogation Italics K 


J 


O R 


& 


C 


z 


Y 


These characters, forty-five in number, are formed of three 
simple elementary marks, the dot, the short dash, and the long- 
dash. These elements, uncombined, are respectively E. T, and 
L, or cipher. The remaining forty-two are made up of the dot 
and the short dash, the long dash never being used in combi¬ 
nation, nor repeated except to repeat the letter or figure which 
it represents. The original intention was to use a longer dash 
for the cipher than for the letter L, but practice has made no 
difference in them, the long dash being invariably translated 







smith’s manual 


6 

according to its connection. As an initial, or when joined 
with 'letters, it is always L: when found among figures, it is 
necessarily a cipher. 

Six of the symbols, C, 0, R, Y, Z, and &, contain, each, a 
space, the shorter separation of the elements being denominated 
breaks. The latter are only long enough to make the elements 
distinct from one another: the former occupies about the room 
that do a dot and a break. 

It is well for every operator to be familiar with all of the 
characters in the preceding table, though some of the punctua¬ 
tion marks are notin general use, and on some lines hardly 
known. A careful examination of their formation is all that is 
necessary before commencing to practice them, as they can 
generally be committed to memory sooner than they can be 
made with the kev. 

Marks of quotation, parenthesis, or italics, are placed both 
before and after the word or words affected by their use. 

The main points to be acquired as a basis for the whole, are 
embraced in the following six principles, which are to be 
mastered before any attempt is made to form other characters: 


First principle, 

Dots close together. 

Second “ 

Dashes close together. 

Third 

Lone dots. 

Fourth u 

Lone dashes. 

Fifth 

A dot with a dash closely following. 

Sixth 

A dash closely followed by a dot. 



Place the first two fingers on the top of the button of the key, 
with the thumb partly beneath it, thus forming a gentle grasp 
on the button. Let the fingers resting on it be considerably 
bent, so that the thumb will not slip from the under side, and 
the wrist and arm be entirely clear of the table. The wrist 
must be perfectly limber, and no stiffness should be given to 



OF TELEGRAPHY. 


7 


any part of the hand. No exertion is to be made with the thumb 
and fingers, other than in grasping the key, and from this they 
should not be permitted to fly during manipulation. They 
borrow their force from the hand and wrist, which should move 
directly up and down through a distance of about three quarters 
of an inch. The motion, both up and down, must be free and 
full , and of moderate firmness. A large majority of students 
write with much too little force ; and they are inclined to limit 
the amount of movement, holding the lever down when it should 
rise, and keeping it up when they should press it down. 

Avoid the error of pressing down with the fingers while the 
wrist is thrown up, and vice versa. The wrist, hand, finders 
and key, should move in the same direction. 

Remembering that the downward movement produces sounds 
corresponding with dots and dashes, and the upward 
motion the sounds representing breaks and spaces, the student 
may proceed with the first principle, making a series of dots at 
the rate of four or five a second, or as fast as a detached lever 
watch ticks. No attempt to increase this speed should be 
made until the whole alphabet can be readily formed, when 
the rate can be gradually accelerated thirty or forty per cent. 
Fifty per cent increase makes very rapid manipulation. Some 
will find it necessary to write even more moderated; and no 
one should manipulate more rapidly than he can do it well. 
The series of dots should be drilled on until the raps sound as 
regular as if made by clock-work. 

The second principle may be started at the rate of one dash to 
a second of time, and slowly increased to three. Though uni¬ 
formity in the acceleration of stroke is here desired, the im¬ 
portant end to be attained is, a close proximity of the dashes: 
breaks , and not spaces , being wanted between them. In this ex¬ 
ercise the rule is to hold the lever down: the exception 
being, to allow an upward flash of the hand, bringing the key 
down again in the shortest possible time. If the upward 
motion be full , it is impossible for the most rapid operator to 
make his marks, whether dots or dashes, too near each other 
where a regular space is not required. It must be continually 
borne in mind, that every character not containing a space, 


8 


smith’s manual 


must be compact , and not open and disjointed, so as to entirely 
change the meaning by a division of one character into two or 
more shorter ones. 

In commencing the third principle , the student will be assisted 
by the knowledge that nearly every first attempt at making a 
single dot, produces a short dash. A quick, but firm down¬ 
ward flash of the key, will form a good letter E. The hand 
should no sooner start downward than it is quickly raised, as if 
the first movement were a mistake. This principle holds true 
in every case where a space follows a dot. 

In drilling on this or any other character, it should not be re¬ 
peated too rapidly; nor should the thumb and fingers be taken 
from the key during the short intervals, but through every 
space the thumb should pull up gently on the key; during 
manipulation there must always be either an upward or a down¬ 
ward pressure exerted. 

The fourth principle , T, L and cipher, requires quite as much 
care as the letter E. An untrained hand sometimes makes T 
too short, but it is rather inclined to the other extreme, espec¬ 
ially when writing words; and it, almost without exception, 
fails to make L, or cipher of sufficient length : indeed, both 
are so varied that in not a few cases, students will be found 
making L shorter than T. 

The time consumed in making the short dash is about equal 
to that occupied in pronouncing the word tea. For L, double 
the time must be given, or about one second. It better be 
made much longer than is necessary, than a little too short, for 
in the former case it cannot be misinterpreted. 

A dot with a dash closely following, or the fifth principle , is 
executed by giving the key one flash and one moderately slow 
closing, the hand going with a bound from the dot to the dash. 
The pronunciation of the word again, with the second syllable 
strongly accented, furnishes very correct time for the letter A. 
At the start, most every one finds himself inclined to make the 
dot too long and the dash too short, but more particularly to 
separate them too much. 

The sixth principle , a dash closely followed by a dot, is one of 
the most difficult combinations. The tendency of the unprac- 


OF TELEGRAPHY. 


9 


ticed to shorten the clash and lengthen the dot, is so great, that 
they are frequently reversed, forming A. This, however, can 
generally he remedied much sooner than they can be brought 
near enough together. 

Measuring th<f time for the dash as correctly as possible, for 
the dot the hand must give a quick flash, as if it were trying 
to place the dot on top of the dash. The student must not 
think of taking his hand up from the dash before beginning the 
dot; that is, the downward position of the key is to be taken 
as the starting point of the dot. 

A strict observance of this rule will alone prevent the occur¬ 
rence of a space after the dash. 

Timing by the pronunciation of the word story, dwelling on 
the first syllable rather longer than usual and clipping the last 
very short, may prove to be good assistance. No more time 
should elapse between the dash and the dot than separates the 
two syllables of story in its pronunciation. 

Justice having been done the six fundamental principles, the 
following exercises may be taken up in regular order, each 
character to be made many times before the next is practiced. 

EXERCISE I. 

E I S H P 6 

After practicing these separately until the right number of 
dots can be made, and the last dot in each character as short as 
the others, run them forward and backward several times, 
making each one but once before proceeding to the next, 

EXERCISE II 

A U V 4 , 

In this exercise be particularly cautious to leave no space be¬ 
tween the dots and the dash. This is the only error likely to 
be made. Let the dash follow the dots just as closely as if it 
were itself a dot. 

It should be observed that this exercise is merely prolonging 
the last dot in I, S, H and P. 




10 


smith’s manual 


EXERCISE III. 

IASUHY P 4 

These are to be produced in couples as represented, but no 
letter is to be made twice in succession. The object is to 
make and readily detect the difference in those in the same 
couple, on account of their similarity. 

EXERCISE IY. 

X D B 8 

Directions for the formation of X have already been given. 
It is only necessary to remember that the dots must be started 
from the depressed position of the hand; and that the last dot 
in each must be made bv a movement seemingly quicker than 
that required for the others. 



EXERCISE Y. 


A 

Comma F 

Semicolon 

X 

W 1 

• 

Parenthesis 


\ 

Each of these, it will be seen, commences with A ; and care 
should be taken to begin them accordingly. The comma and 
quotation, being nothing more than A’s close together, should 
be made without difficulty. F is probably as difficult as any 
character in this exercise. A and X must be thought of at 
nearly the same instant. It may be commenced with the dash 
much too long, in order to get the dots placed near enough to it, 
and then the dash may be gradually shortened until it becomes 
of proper length. 

The semicolon can be referred to A and F, or comma and E 




OF TELEGRAPHY. 


11 


closely united. X is likely to be separated into A I, or more 
frequently into E D. 

In forming W and 1, care must not only be taken to have 
them compact, but to get the dashes of equal length. The gen¬ 
eral tendency is to make the last one too short, and, not in these 
alone, but wherever two or more dashes occur together. 

There seems to be no better rule for the parenthesis than to 
put A and U close together. 

EXERCISE VI. 

U Q 2 Period 3 

The warnings already given, should make these characters 
comparative^ easy, as they differ from some in exercise V, only 
in starting with a dot or two more. V and E, closely joined, 
will form 3; and U I) will make period, when properly put 
together. 

EXERCISE VII. 

M G 7 5 Exclamation 

Paragraph- 

The breaks in these, as made by the young operator, are 
seldom short enough, and the last dash, as before remarked, 
hardly long enough. 

7 must not be turned into M I or M A, as is many times done. 

* \ 4 

EXERCISE VIII. 

9 Interrogation Italics K J 


If any difficulty is experienced with 9, it should be formed 
from T U, or 1) T, accordingly as the student may be oppositely 
inclined to divide it. 



12 smith’s manual 

Any other guide seems unnecessary for the next two charac¬ 
ters. J and K are generally more difficult of formation than 
any of the other characters, ninety-nine persons in one hundred 
insisting on dividing the one into double N, and the other into 
N T. K should always be practiced before J, and by closely fol¬ 
lowing T with A, the movement for the latter being upper¬ 
most in the mind. 

After the K motion is firmly fixed in the hand and mind, 
J may be produced by simply adding one dot, extreme caution 
being taken not to change the second dash into a dot and space 
forming D IE. 

EXERCISE IX. 

O R & C Z Y 


These can only be referred to E I and S, of which they are 
made. The spacing should be just sufficient to easily show that 
they are not intended for I, S and H. The tendency is, to open 
them too much, or make a dash of the dot immediately pre¬ 
ceding the space. 


EXERCISE X. 

When all the characters have been correctly made, accord¬ 
ing to the preceding exercises and accompanying directions, 
they may then be practiced in alphabetical order, but not be¬ 
fore. For this reason they do not appear alphabetically any¬ 
where in this book. The very common desire to begin making 
them in this order, and to write one's own name even 
before the letters composing it have been tried separately, 
is altogether wrong, and should never be indulged in. 

From this time onward, the student should continually bear 
in mind, that unless he is on the alert, he will be making heavy 
dots just before spaces, separating dots from dashes, but more 
especially dashes from dashes, and making T’s too long and L's 
much too short. There are, however, certain combinations of 
letters in which some of these tendencies are reversed. Thus, 


OF TELEGRAHHY. 


13 


a difficulty is found in getting the dash in 8 near the dots, and 
yet the same individual, in writing th, finds it too conven¬ 
ient to join them into the figure which he is inclined to 
separate. The same is true in regard to an and figure 1, me and 
G, N and te , D and ti. There is also a strong inclination to join 
A, or a lone dot, to the last end of T and L, more particularly 
the latter. 

Unitormity of space between letters, and between words also, 
is of no less importance than correct proportion of the letters 
themselves. The distance between two adjacent letters should 
be about great enough to accommodate one dot, though some 
operators place them still nearer. Double this space is to be 
left between words. A very common fault of young operators 
is to run their words too closely together; a fault which causes 
more trouble in reading than any other one feature of poor 
manipulation. 

To the rule for spacing letters, there are two exceptions. 

Double E must contain a space nearly as great as that be¬ 
tween words. 

Double L, or two or more ciphers, need not be spaced, and 
they usually are not. If properly made, they cannot be mis¬ 
taken for anything else, as no one character is formed of two or 
more long marks. 

The words let, tell, little, take, lake and train, will furnish good 
exercise for overcoming some wrong and strong tendencies. 

When more than three figures are used to express a whole 
number, they should be divided into periods of three figures 
each, as in ordinary notation; the periods being spaced from 
each other the same as words. Thus: 1,250,095 in tele¬ 
graphic writing will be- --- 


In fractions, one dot is made to represent the line between 
the numerator and the denominator. 

1-2 is thus expressed: -* - 

yg a a a -. - - —.... 

4 3-5 “ 


a 


a 






14 


SMITH S MANUAL 


No sign for dollars or cents is employed, consequently these 
words must be written out in full. Indeed, nothing can be 
telegraphed which cannot be spelled. Some private marks as 
those used on boxes of goods can, in substance, be transmitted 
by substituting for them words expressing their shape. 



C may be sent, diamond A, triangle B, square C. 


When the directions thus far have been thoroughly executed, 
and the figures have become as familiar as the letters, most any 
short words may be taken up and written without a copy to be 
looked at. In learning to telegraph, the fault of going over a 
great deal and doing nothing well, is a universal one. In writ¬ 
ing from memory, less ground is likely to be poorly run over, 
and one learns to send and spell at the same time, which, at 
first, is rather difficult. 

As one cannot learn to read bv sound from his own writing, 
he always knowing what is intended to be made, two persons 
must practice together, taking turns at reading and writing, and 
each correcting the faults of the other. 

At first the characters must be learned separately, then short 
words chosen and written slowly and very distinctly, and well 
spaced. It is impossible to give much instruction that will assist 
in recognizing the different sounds, but there is one point to be 
noted. The lever makes a sound at each movement, the down¬ 
ward motion producing the heavier one, or that representing 
dots and dashes; or, more properly, the heavy stroke indicates 
the commencement of a dot or a dash, and the lighter sound 
shows when the mark ceases. E makes just as much noise as 
does L, the only difference being in the length of time between 
the heavy and the light sounds, L having no sound except at 
the ends. Then, if the recoil or lighter vibration be dispensed 
with, E, T, and L, will all sound alike. Strict attention 
must be paid to this fact in all the letters having spaces in them, 
in order that they may not be confounded with the letters 
which they would form, if the dot immediately preceding the 
space were changed to a dash, filling up the space. 


Thus, compare well the sounds of 0 and 1ST, B and D, C and 
F, & and B, Z and Q, Y and X. 




OF TELEGRAPHY. 


15 



The form of regular dispatches differs but little from that of 
letters. Each is first dated, then addressed to some party, next 
comes the information to be communicated, followed by the 
name of the person writing it. 

The terms applied to the different portions of a telegram are 
date, address , body, signature and check ; and this is the order in 
which a dispatch is written and sent over a line. 

The check is the number of words in the body of the mes¬ 
sage and the price of transmission. 

What the party sending a message says to the party ad¬ 
dressed, or all that occurs between the address and the signa¬ 
ture, constitutes the body; and this alone is counted and 
charged for, unless there are more distinct signatures than one, 
in which case, all but the last signature is counted. Any num¬ 
ber of names, however, constituting one firm, is to be regarded 
as but one signature. 

Telegrams should contain as few words as possible and at 
the same time clearly convey the meaning intended. The use 
of “Dear Sir” “Yours &c.,” is entirely unnecessary and seldom 
indulged in, as they must be considered a part of the body of 
the message. 

Notwithstanding the adoption, by leading telegraph com¬ 
panies, of certain rules for counting, there is not, at the present 
time, any uniformity in the reckoning of compound words. It 
was the design of these companies to have most compound 
words counted one word for the whole compound, but the cus¬ 
toms of operators have made the exception a better guide 
than the rule. 

To-day, to-night and to-morrow are, each, one word. 

Excepting A. M. and P. M., meaning forenoon and afternoon, 
(which are called one word each,) every initial is counted a 
word. F. 0. B. and C. 0. D., signifying free on board and col¬ 
lect on delivery , are three words each. Custom has made two 
words of such numbers as twenty-six, forty-eight, seventy- 
two &c. 


16 


smith’s manual 

No abbreviations are permitted in the body of a message, 
and all numbers are first spelled out in full, and afterwards re¬ 
peated in figures ; the words, and not the figures, being counted. 

When desired, a company will insure the correct transmis¬ 
sion of a dispatch for a tariff fifty per cent higher than the 
usual rate, in which case, it is repeated back to the operator 

first sending it, and he compares the repetition with the 
original copy. 

Some lines have also doubled their rates on a certain kind 
of commercial dispatch, called cipher message. The body of 
these is made up of disjointed words, apparently conveying no 
idea, and is intended to be understood only by the party ad¬ 
dressed. 

There is but one method of charging for messages; ten words 
always being the greatest number that can be sent for the 
least money. Any number less than ten, costs the same as ten, 
but each word in excess of that number is subject to a certain 
additional charge. The rates on different lines, and for 
different distances on the same line vary, but the system of 
charging is precisely the same throughout this country. 

If two or more copies of one dispatch are delivered to 
different parties, each copy must be paid for at the full rate. 

Agents frequently send the same thing to five or six persons 
or firms. 

The charges on a telegram going over any number of lines, 
are all paid in advance, or all collected on delivery. As dis¬ 
patches themselves are valueless to a telegraph company, pre¬ 
payment is usually required; but when it is known that the 
party addressed can be found, and the charges collected of him, 
a message is sent collect 

CORRECT FORM OF ORDINARY TELEGRAMS. 

Buffalo, May 9th 1865. 

To Fisher & Hamilton, 

New York. 

Send Thirty-five (35) gross at seven three eighths (7f.) 
Funds to morrow. 


10. 75, Pd 


T. M. Long. 


OF TELEGRAPHY. 


17 

The operator sending has to insert the abbreviations “Fr” 
(from) and “Sig,” (signature.) With “Fr,”he starts to write the 
dispatch, and at the end of the body, “Sig.” is introduced as a 
warning to the operator receiving, that he may place the signa¬ 
ture in its proper position. These abbreviations , or the words they 
represent , are never copied by the receiver . 

The month and year of the date are never sent over the line, 
and sometimes the day of the month is not, when it is trans¬ 
mitted the same day on which it is written. If written or 
handed into the office a day or more before sent, the correct 
date is telegraphed. 

When the party sending requests the hour and minute of the 
date to be transmitted, the request is complied with. 

A period should always be used at the end of the address, 
and at the close of every complete sentence except just before 
the signature. It is never placed after initials, and no kind of 
punctuation is made use of except at the end of the address, 
and in the body of the dispatch. 

Many operators punctuate only with the period, scarcely 
knowing the shorter pauses. 

The foregoing message should therefore be thus written on 
the line : 


i 


The check (Ck.) 10 75 Pd. (paid,) signifies that there are ten 
words in the message, and that the price of transmission is 
75 cents, (the amount always being stated in cents,) the abbre¬ 
viation “Pdf’ showing that the dispatch is prepaid. “Col.” ac- 









18 


smith’s manual 

companies some checks, indicating that the charges are to be 
collected of the party to whom the message is addressed. 

When “Pa” is found in a check, it is an order to pay out the 
amount following it, usually to a connecting line, but some¬ 
times to the messenger for delivering the message some distance 
from the telegraph office. 

There are several forms of checks having one signification, 
but they can be easily understood by remembering that the 
check of every dispatch which is not prepaid, must contain the 
term Col. ; and that the absence of Col. always determines pre¬ 
payment, even if Pd. does not accompany the check. 

In the following forms, all which appear in the same group 
are of like import. 

CHECKS FOR PREPAID DISPATCHES GOING OVER RUT ONE COM¬ 
PANY’S LINE. 

10 50 10 50 Pd 10 Pd 50 

10 N Y 50 Pd 

The last form, in use on some lines, is to place before the 
amount the “call” of the office which receives the charges, 
whether prepaid or not, and after the amount to state if Pd. or 
Col, It will be seen that in this form, the letters, both before 
and after the amount, decide the place of payment. 

CHECKS FOR DISPATCHES GOING OVER BUT ONE LINE, AND TO 

BE PAID ON DELIVERY. 

10 Col 50 10 50 Col 10 N Y 50 Col. 

CHECKS FOR MESSAGES GOING OVER TWO OR MORE LINES, AND 

INDICATING PREPAYMENT. 

10 90 40 10 90 Pa 40 

10 Pd 90 Pa 40 10 N Y 50 & 40 Pd 

Each of these four forms means that 90 is the total charge, 
50 of it belonging to the first company, and 40 to the connect¬ 
ing line. 

CHECKS FOR DISPATCHES GOING OVER TWO OR MORE LINES, 
CHARGES TO BE PAID AT THE DESTINATION. 

10 Col 90 Pel 40 10 N Y Col 90 Pd 40 

10 N Y 50 & 40 Col 

These forms show that the company delivering the message, 


OF TELEGRAPHY. 


19 


collects of the address 90, keeps 50 of it, and pays 40 to the 
line connecting with it. 

Where a dispatch goes over several lines, and it is prepaid, 
two amounts are used in the check until it passes over the last 
line, when it is reduced to its simplest form—one amount : 
when collect over a number of lines, one amount is used in the 
first check, and two amounts in all of the rest. 

The form 10 90 Pa 40, orders to be paid to the next line, 
all that does not belong to the line sending. Thus if a mes¬ 
sage of 10 words goes over four different lines, the charge on 
each of which is 25, the check will be on the 


First 

line 

10 100 Pa 75 

Second 

u 

10 

75 Pa 50 

Third 

u 

10 

50 Pa 25 

Fourth 

u 

10 

25 


In using the form 10. Y. Y. 50 & 40. Pd., each line keeps 
its own rate separate in the first amount, the second being the 
tariff for the remainder of the route, whether one or several com¬ 
panies. 

Thus, for four lines, each charging 25, we have : 

First line 10 A 25 & 75 Pd 
Second “ 10 B 25 & 50 Pd 

Third “ 10 C 25 & 25 Pd 

Fourth “ 10 D 25 Pd 

The first form of check for a collect message going over four 
lines at 25 each, gives : 

First line 10 Col. 25 

Second “ 10 Col. 50 Pd 25 

Third “ 10 Col. 75 Pd 50 

Fourth “ 10 Col. 100 Pd 75 

The last style under like circumstances produces : 

First line 10 A 25 Col. 

Second “ 10 B 25 k 25 Col 

Third “ 10 C 25 & 50 Col 

Fourth “ 10 D 25 & 75 Col 

The first company sending a collect message, receives its 
charges from the second company; the second collects from the 
third, the rate of the first added to its own ; from the fourth, 


20 


smith’s manual 

the third receives the charges over the first three lines, and so 
on until the last company, on delivering the message, collects 
from the party addressed, the full amount for transmission. 

On a free message, in place of the check, is sent “D Id,’ 7 sig¬ 
nifying “Dead Head 1 ' or no charge. Sometimes the number of 
words in D H messages is sent the same as in paid dispatch¬ 
es, but in many instances, as on railroad lines, where it is well 
understood what communications should be free, even the D H 
is omitted. 

FORM OF CIPHER DISPATCH AS USED ON MILITARY TELEGRAPHS, 
OR BY SPECULATORS, TO RENDER IT UNINTELLIGIBLE 
TO ALL EXCEPT THE PARTY ADDRESSED. 

Boston, March 18th, 1865. 

To Brown, Henderson & Co., 

Hartford, Ct. 

Aloud rampant honor deal boots bang bag cut order fox. 

Whipple & Stearns. 

10 80 Pd 

FORM OF DISPATCHES BETWEEN OFFICES CORRECTING ERRORS, 
OR MAKING INQUIRIES RELATING TO THE 
BUSINESS OF THE LINE. 

These are known as Ofs. (office) messages , and are, of course, 

D. H. 

To Chicago Ofs. 

Can’t find Hawley & Jones., 25 Fulton St, message 18th 
signed Peterson. Grive better address. 

Hew York Ofs. 

REPLY 

To Hew York Ofs. 

Find Hawley & Jones 75 Fulton St, not 25. Hurry an¬ 
swer. 

Chicago Ofs. 

To understand more particularly the method of sending and 
receiving dispatches, it must be known that every office has a 
call, which is usually one or two of the letters occurring in the 
name of the place, but in a few instances a letter not to be 
found in the name, or a figure, is used. The calls are the sig¬ 
nals made use of in arresting the attention of the different sta¬ 
tions as desired; therefore, all offices on the same line, or at 


OF TELEGRAPHY. 


21 


least all that communicate directly with one another, must have 
different signals. Operators must in all cases be able to distin¬ 
guish their own calls by sound. 

One office desiring to communicate with another, makes the 
call of that station three or four times, then gives his own office 
signal; and keeps repeating this until he receives a reply or 
gets tired of calling. 

An office answering a call, makes the letter I two or three 
times, more or less, and then its own call. 

An acknowledgment of the receipt of any kind of commu¬ 
nication, is made by returning 0 K, followed by the call of the 
office receiving the communication. 

Writing one’s own office call is termed signing ; and this must 
be done once , and only once, at the close of everything that is 
written over a line, be it calling, answering calls, giving O K, 
sending messages, or conversing. 

Let 1ST. Y. be the call for New York, and B that for Boston, 
and the New York operator will call the attention of the Bos¬ 
ton operator, thus: 


Boston, in reply, says: .. 

When Boston calls New York, these signals merely change 
places. 

In acknowledging the receipt of a dispatch, Boston replies 

with - -- -, or sometimes precedes the 0 K 

with the letter I a few times. 

No communication is ever sent until the office to receive it 
has been called, and a reply has been returned ; and no mes¬ 
sage is ever regarded as transmitted, until the office receiving 
gives 0 K, or commences to send back other dispatches. 

Some lines number all of their messages which are not D II 
each office commencing in the morning, or whenever its day’s 
business begins, (sometimes six P. M.,) with No. 1 for each 
message having a destination different from others, then put¬ 
ting No 2 on the next one going to the. same place, and so on ; 
so that no two messages sent to the same office from a 113 ^ one 
place in one day, will have the same number on them. If an 



22 


smith’s manual 

office sends 20 messages to one station in one day, the numbers 
will run from 1 up to 20. If 20 dispatches go to 20 offices, one 
to each, all of them will bear Ho 1. The loss of a communi- 
cation is much less likely to occur when it is thus marked. In 

4/ 

transmitting messages thus numbered, the number is the first 
thing that is sent: “Fr" comes directly after it. 

When an operator discovers that he makes a telegraphic char¬ 
acter wrong, he corrects himself by re-writing the word in 
which the error occurs, and, it he sends a wrong word and de¬ 
tects his mistake, he says, “Msk” (mistake,) and goes back to 
the word preceding. 

It is the duty of every operator to count the number of words 
in the body of every message he receives, and, if his counting 
does not agree with the number sent over the line, to immedi¬ 
ately inform the sender of the fact, by stating how many words 
he has received. The operator sending, then counts his copy 
also, and, if he finds that there has been a miscount of the 
original message, and that the operator receiving has the right 
number, he corrects his check; but if he sees that the words 
are correctly counted, he begins to repeat the body of the mes¬ 
sage, and proceeds until the operator receiving discovers the 
error. Sometimes the initials only are repeated. The main 
object of counting messages in offices receiving them, is to 
avoid incorrect transmission. 

If, while-receiving anything over a line, an operator for any 
reason does not get it satisfactorily, he at once calls for a repe¬ 
tition of the unintelligible part by using some abbreviation 
meaning “go ahead’' or “start at,'’ and writing the last word 
which he gets perfectly. 

The operator receiving a dispatch should always mark on 
the blank, in a place provided for that purpose, the hour and 
minute of its reception, and the one sending must put on the 
face of his copy, in some convenient place, the hour and min¬ 
ute at which he sends it, and sometimes also the initials of 
both sender and receiver, and the name or number of the wire 
on which it is sent. Some offices mark on one corner of oriel- 

O 

nal messages, the time at which they are received from the 
public. 


OF TELEGRAPHY. 


23 



/ 


Are used in conversation, news reports, office and other D 
II messages, and about paid messages, but never in the body of 
them. The number of abbreviations in use on the various 
lines is quite large, but those which are used alike by all, are 
comparatively few. Numerical abbreviations differ so greatly 
in their meaning on different lines, that it is deemed best not 
to lumber the student with information which he may have to 
unlearn. 

The following list, including those which have one signifi¬ 
cation on all lines, will give the student such a start that he 
can easily learn others from their connection : 


Abv. 

Above. 

Cm. 

Come. 

Ads. 

Address. 

Co. 

Company. 

Ae. 

Are. 

Cmn. 

Common. 

Af. 

After. 

Com. 

Communication. 

Av. 

Any. 

Condr. 

Conductor. 

Abt. 

About. 

digs. 

Charges. 

Agn. 

Again. 

Dd. 

Did. ^ 

Ahr. 

Another. 

Dg. 

Doing. 

Amt. 

Amount, 

D. H. 

Free. 

Ans. 

Answer. 

Dn. 

Done. 

B. 

Be. 

Ds. 

Does. 

Bf. 

Before. 

Dw. 

Down. 

Bk. 

Back. Book. 

E. 

Of the. 

Bn. 

Been. 

Eh 

Each. 

Bat. 

Battery. 

Ehr. 

Either. 

Bbl. 

Barrel. 

Ex. 

Express. 

Brk. 

Break. 

F. 

Of. 

Btn. 

Between. 

Ei. 

Fire. 

Btr. 

Better. 

Fr. 

From. 

Bsns. 

Business. 

Frt. 

Freight. 

C. 

Can. 

Fwd. 

Forward. 

Cc. 

Commence. 

Fig. 

Figure. 

Cur. 

Current. 

Guar. 

Guaranteed. 

Col. 

Collect. 

G. A. 

Go ahead. 

Cd. 

Could. 

Gd. 

Good. 

Ci. 

Circuit, 

Gg. 

v^ 0 . 

Going. 

Ck. 

Check. 

Gi. 

Give. 


24 


SMITHS MANUAL 


G. M. 

Good Morning. 

Ni. 

Night. 

Gn. 

Gone. Good Night. 

Nn. 

None. 

G. 

Ground. 

No. 

Number. 

H. 

Have. 

Nr. 

Near. 

Ha. 

Has. 

Ns. 

News. 

Hd. 

Had. 

N vr. 

Never. 

Hf. 

Half. 

Nsy. 

Necessary. 

Hm. 

Him. 

Ntg. 

Nothing. 

Ho. 

Who. 

N. M. 

No more. 

Hr. 

Hear. Here. 

0. K. 

Correct. 

Hs. 

His. 

Ovr. 

Over. 

Hu. 

House. 

Obg. 

Oblige. 

Hw. 

How. 

Ofs. 

Office. 

Hy. 

Heavy. 

Ohr. 

Other. 

Htl. 

Hotel. 

Opr. 

Operator. 

Ik. 

Like. 

Pa, 

Pay. 

Immy. 

Immediately. 

Pc. 

Place. 

Inst. 

Instrument. Instant. 

Pd. 

Paid. 

Impsb. 

Impossible. 

P. 0. 

Post Office. 

Impt. 

Important. 

Pis. 

Please. 

K. 

Take. 

Ppr. 

Paper. 

Kg. 

Taking. 

Psb. 

Possible. 

Kn. 

Taken. 

Qk. 

Quick. 

Kp. 

Keep. 

Qt. 

Quite. 

Kps. 

Compliments. 

R, 

For. 

Kw. 

Know. 

Rr. 

Repeat. Railroad, 

Lv. 

Leave. 

Rs. 

Raise. 

Lrn. 

Learn. 

Rt. 

Right. 

Ltr. 

Letter. 

Rhr. 

Rather. 

Ltl. 

Little. 

Rtn. 

Return. 

Ma. 

May. 

S. 

Was. 

Md. 

Made. 

Sa. 

Same. 

Mk. 

Make 

Sd. 

Should. Said. 

Mkg. 

Making. 

Sh. 

Such. 

Mh. 

Much. 

SI. 

Shall. 

Mr. 

More. Mister. 

Sm. 

Some. 

Mt. 

Meet. 

Sn. 

Soon. 

My. 

Move. 

Su. 

South. 

Min. 

Minute. 

Ss. 

Says. 

Msk. 

Mistake. 

St. 

Street. 

Mtr. 

Matter. 

Sfb. 

Stop for breakfast. 

Msg. 

Message. 

Sfd. 

“ u dinner. 

Msngr. 

Messenger. 

Sft. 

“ “ tea. 

Nh. 

North. 

Sfn, 

u u the night. 

N. 

Not. 

Sig. 

Signature. 

Ha. 

‘ Name. 

Sml. 

Small. 


OF TELEGRAPHY. 


25 


Stk. 

Stock. 

U. 

You. 

Smtg. 

Something. 

Ur. 

Your. 

Stix. 

Sticks. 

Ut. 

But. 

T. 

The. 

Un. 

Under. 

Tt. 

That. 

Und. 

Understand. 

Td. 

To-day. 

Y. 

Y ery. 

Tff. 

Tariff. 

AY. 

Will. 

. % 

Thing. 

Wa. 

AY ay. 

Ti. 

Time. 

Wd. 

AYou Id. 

Tk. 

Think. 

AVh. 

Which. 

Tnk. 

Thank. 

YVi. 

With. Wire. 

Tm 

Them. To-morrow. 

AVk. 

W eek. AY eak, 

Tn. 

Then. 

AVI. 

Well. 

Tr. 

Their. There. 

AYn. 

When. 

Ts. 

This. 

AVr. 

Where. 

Ty. 

They. 

AYs. 

AY est. 

Tel. 

Telegraph. 

AVt. 

What. 

Tho. 

Though. 

AVy. 

Why. 

Tm. 

Train. 

AVhr. 

Whether. 

Thot. 

Thought. 

\Yrd. 

Word. 

Thru. 

Through. 

X. 

Next. 


Besides the foregoing, there are several large classes of 
words having certain terminations, which are abbreviated in a 
regular manner. 

O 


The termination 

ing 

drops 

in. 


ed 

u 

e. 

ion or 

ian 

“ io 

or ia. 


ive 

u 

ie. 


ial 

u 

ia. 


ble. 

%( 

e. 


ful. 

a 

u. 


ess. 

u 

es. 


26 


smith’s manual 


PART II. 

Practical Science, 



All telegraphs effecting communication by means of mag¬ 
nets produced by electric currents, are styled Electro-Mag. 
netic ; and in each are to be found five principal parts, as fol¬ 
lows : 

Conductors , for combing the motive power— Electricity —be¬ 
tween places more or less distant. 

Insulators , to confine the electric current to the conductor. 

Batteries , for producing the motive power. 

Magnets with their appurtenances, to be actuated by eleetric- 
ity. 

Manipulating keys , for controling the current. 

CONDUCTORS AND INSULATORS. 

To make lightning our obedient servant, we must understand 
that there are certain substances through which it will readily 
pass, while other bodies allow it to move with great difficulty, 
or entirely obstruct its passage. The first named are conduct¬ 
ors; the others, non-conductors or insulators. In these two gen¬ 
eral classes are found many shades of difference, so that there 
are all degrees of conducting power from the best conductor 
to the best insulator. Metals and their alloys rank first 
as good conductors. Among the best of these are silver, 
tin and copper, different authorities placing different ones 
at the head, while iron and platinum, as regards their power of 




OF TELEGRAPHY. 


27 


conduction, are quite low in this class. The only non-metallic 
substance whose conductivity at all approaches that of the 
metals, is carbon well calcined. Other forms of this element, 
as charcoal and plumbago, conduct in a less degree, while the 
diamond, which is pure crystalized carbon, is a good insulator. 
Some acids, saline solutions, moist earth, animals and green 
vegetables, are conductors in a still smaller degree. Pure wa¬ 
ter is yet lower in the scale, and when frozen so as to be per¬ 
fectly dry, is a non-conductor. 

There is a great variety of substances having so feeble a power 
of conduction that they are regarded as non-conductors. Among 
such are chalk, lime, marble and stone generally ; rust of met¬ 
als, fibrous substances, as wood when dry, leather, parchment 
feathers, paper, hair, wool, silk and cotton. Dry air, sulphur, 
resin, sealing wax, gutta percha, shellac, rubber and glass, are 
the best of insulators. Any substance reduced to a powder be¬ 
comes a conductor to a certain extent, on account of its absorp¬ 
tion of moisture. Frictional electricity, which is vastly more 
intense than galvanic, can passthrough glass only by making a 
fracture ; hence, glass may be said to be an absolute non-con¬ 
ductor. 

As oxides of metals can scarcely be considered conductors, 
all joints in a wire over which an electric current is to pass, 
should, when formed, be perfectly clean. In making a splice 
in a wire, enough of the two ends to form the joint should first 
be brightened, and then each wire should be firmly wound 
around the other, (Fig. 1,) the different revolutions touching 



Fig. 1. 

one another, and passing, as near as may be, at right angles 
with the wire which they surround. A wire in being spliced 
must never be bent back and wound upon itself, forming a 
loose loop, which, for telegraphic purposes, is very unreliable. 
In splicing two wires in an office, each one should be given 
eight or ten revolutions ; but four or five will answer for the 
line wire, because the strain on it always keeps those joints 






28 smith’s manual 

firm. Splices in offices, however, should be avoided as much 
as possible. 

It must be noted that, in order to keep a current of electrici¬ 
ty confined to a wire over which it is wished to pass, the wire 
must not be permitted to touch other conductors in such a 
manner that the current will run off on them. This is accom¬ 
plished by suspending the wire on insulators ; and when thus 
separated from other conducting bodies, it is said to be insula¬ 
ted. Glass and vulcanized rubber are 
the articles chiefly employed in the 
insulation of telegraph lines. A sec¬ 
tion of the glass insulator, and the 
manner in which it is attached to the 
pole, are exhibited in Fig. 2. B is a 
bracket, usually of oak, which is 
spiked to the pole P. Over the up¬ 
per part of the bracket fits the glass 
G. The wooden shield S is seldom 
used. The line wire passes by the side 
of the glass to which it is fastened by 
a “tie"’ wire. The glass on the under 
side is concave, for the purpose of 
keeping that portion dry during wet 
weather, to prevent the current from 
2 . passing from the wire to the pole. 



GALVANIC BATTERIES. 


In the fluid of each cup of every galvanic battery, tw T o 
pieces of solid conductor are placed, one end of each project¬ 
ing abo\e the fluid. ‘These ends are termed poles. One of 

these pieces is always zinc / the other, some finer metal or car¬ 
bon. 


A batteiy will generate no electricity except while some un- 
bioken conductor is touching both poles, or the poles themselves 
aie in contact with each other. The conductor, as of wire, may 
be of any length, and the battery will force electricity through it 
if the continuity be perfect : but the slightest imaginable open¬ 
ing in any portion of the wire will completely obstruct the 

























OF TELEGRAPHY. 


29 


passage of any electric fluid. The flow of electricity is known 
under the name of current; while circuit is the term applied to 
the conductor or path for the current. The metals and fluids 
in the battery, as well as the wire, are to be considered a por¬ 
tion of the circu it,. 

An important principle to be continually borne in mind is, 
that a current cannot he made to start from one pole of a battery , 
unless it can pass around and touch the other pole ) he the distance a 
few inches or a thousand miles. 

There are but three kinds of batteries in general use on 
telegraph lines: the Grove, the Leeson, and the Daniel 1 
or blue vitriol. The last is the only one here considered, as it 
is the one generally, if not universally, employed at all stations 
where young operators are likely to be called on to take care 
of a battery. 

The Daniell battery is usually constructed as represented in 
Fig. 3, in which G is a glass or glazed earthenware jar, C a 
cylinder of copper, open at the side and bottom, P C a porous 
cup, and Z a cylinder or rod of zinc. 

A pocket is formed on the outer and upper side of the 
copper, for the purpose of holding extra crystals of blue 
vitriol, to keep up the strength of the solution. Sometimes an 
independent pocket, suspended on the glass jar, is used ; 
and the copper is, in some instances, formed into a perfect jar, 
so that the glass jar is dispensed with ; but such cups are lia¬ 
ble to become leaky. 

This battery thus put together, must stand several hours 
with closed circuit before it will acquire much strength. If a 
new battery of this kind is required to work as soon as set up, 
after placing the cups and cylinders in their proper position, 
the blue vitriol should be pulverized and put into the copper 
pocket, and then warm water (not hot enough to break the 
glass) filtered through it until the solution reaches within 
about two inches of the top of the jar. Then warm or hot 
water should be poured into the porous cup until the surfaces 
of the water and the blue vitriol solution are on a level with 
each other. The addition of a tablespoonful or two of the 
blue vitriol solution to the water in the porous cup, will cause 


30 


smith’s manual 


the battery to start off with nearly full force. Six or eight 
drops of sulphuric acid, half a teaspoonful of white vitriol 
(sulphate of zinc,) or of common salt, will answer the same 
purpose. This battery as generally constructed and used for 
local circuits, will run without any attention for ten or fifteen 
days, according to the length and size of the wire in the local 
magnet, and the number of office hours per day. If the blue 
vitriol solution is kept saturated, whenever the battery becomes 
too much weakened, the zincs must be taken out and scraped, 
and the water in the porous cups, with the exception of a table¬ 
spoonful or two of the clear to each cup, must be thrown out 
and replaced with clean water. If no reservation of the old 
water (solution of sulphate of zinc) be made, and nothing but 
pure water be used, the battery, after cleaning, will be very 
weak for some time. The blue vitriol solution will last a year 
or more, or until it becomes too filthy from external causes. 

It is well for every operator to understand that blue vitriol 
is oxide or rust of copper, dissolved in sulphuric acid. The 
action of the battery separates the acid from the copper, the 
latter being deposited on the copper cylinder, and the former 
passing through the porous cup and uniting with the zinc, pro¬ 
duces white vitriol or sulphate of zinc. Therefore, the growth 
of the copper in thickness, and a corresponding diminution of 
the zinc, are neither mysterious nor illegitimate. 

Once in two or three months, the copper should be taken 
out, and the deposit peeled off. This may be done several 
times, when the deposit will adhere too firmly to the original 
plate to be removed. Then, when so much copper accumulates 
as to afford too little room -for the porous cup, new coppers 
must be brought into service. 

The porous cups also become coated with copper on the out¬ 
side, which, after a while, so fills up the pores as to render the 
cups worthless. 

Neglect to keep a surplus of blue vitriol in the pocket de¬ 
signed for that purpose, will allow the upper portion of that 
solution to become weak, and in consequence, another current 
(on the principle of a battery formed of one metal and two 


OF TELEGRAPHY. 


31 


fluids) is set up, which, eats holes through the copper cylinder 
where the solution has become exhausted. 

The blue vitriol solution, by the combined action of evapo¬ 
ration and absorption, creeps slowly up the sides of the jar, 
and runs over the top and down the outside. This feature of 
the Daniel 1 battery is the greatest objection to it; and, as yet, 
there seems to be no remedy for it. 

In this battery the copper pole is the positive . The zinc is 
the negative in this and every other kind of battery now in 
use. 

In joining together any number of cups, whether of the same, 
or of different kinds of battery, the positive pole of the first 
cup must be connected with the negative of the second, the 
positive of the second with the negative of the third, and so 
on throughout the whole series. It matters not which pole we 
commence with, if we are only careful never to connect like 
poles ; but this law must be as strictly observed in joining bat¬ 
teries hundreds of miles apart, as if they stood side by side. 

No battery should be permitted to freeze, for, while frozen, 
the current .is very much impaired, or altogether suspended. 
A battery while warm works more vigorously, as heat is a 
promoter, of chemical action. The connections must be kept 
free from rust and dirt, in order to allow the current to pass 
through them freely. 

MAGNETS. 

A piece of metal that will attract another at a perceptible 
distance, and with a force greater than that of gravitation, 
which is a property of all matter, is a magnet. The number of 
substances susceptible of the magnetic property may be lim¬ 
ited to five : nickel, cobalt, iron and two of it£ compounds. 
These compounds—steel (carburet of iron) and Lode-stone (an 
iron ore)—form permanent magnets. Magnets of soft iron are 
altogether used for telegraphic purposes, on account of their 
superior magnetic power, and the great rapidity with which 
they acquire and lose it. The softer the iron, the quicker 
its action; and therefore, for temporary magnets, it is thorough¬ 
ly annealed. 


32 


smith’s manual 

If a piece of soft iron be placed near a wire, over which a 
current of electricity is passing, the iron, under the influence 
of the electric current, will be instantly magnetized, although 
the two do not touch each other , and will attract any other sub¬ 
stance that can be similarly affected under the same influence. 
The moment the flow of electricity stops, the iron ceases to be 
a magnet; and thus it can be magnetized and de-magnetized 
far more rapidly than any hand can vibrate. A bar of iron 
can, not only become magnetic from a current not in contact 
with it, but can also impart this force to another piece of iron 
at a perceptible distance; in fact, there can be no attraction 
until this has taken place, when each attracts the other with 
the same force; hence, magnets attract nothing but magnets, and 
this attraction is always mutual. There are other means by 
which this peculiar property ma} r be given to iron, but none of 
them have any bearing on telegraphy. 

Nearly all the magnetic force of an iron bar, accumulates at 
the ends, which are termed poles; and these poles, on account 
of a strange difference in their action, are distinguished by 
north and south. A north pole always repels a north, the same 
as do two souths ; but north and south always attract each other. 
One end of every magnet has north polarity, and the other end 
has that of south ; hence, one pole of a magnet always attracts 
the other. To obtain the full power of a magnet, it must be 
bent in the middle, so that the ends come near each other; and 
then both poles may be brought to act on the same object. 
When a piece of soft iron is presented to the poles of a mag¬ 
net, the effect of the latter on the former, is uniformly such as 
to set up an attraction between the two; that is, one pole can¬ 
not generate the same polarity in another piece of metal so that 
the two will repel each other. If, instead of bringing a rod 
of iron near a strait wire carrying an electric current, a long 
wire be completely covered with silk, or some other non-con¬ 
ductor, and then wound several hundred times around the iron 
rod, as thread is put on a spool, the magnetic effect of a given 
current through the wire, will be vastly augmented. The ob¬ 
ject of covering the wire with silk, (insulating it,) is to keep 
the different revolutions from touching one another, so as to 


OF TELEGRAPHY. 


33 

compel the current to follow the whole length of the conduct* 
or. 

Let us take a rod of iron eight or ten inches in length, and 
about half an inch in diameter, and bend it into the form of the 
letter IT ; then make, of some non-conducting material, as hard 
rubber, two spools, each about three inches long, and the ends 
an inch and a quarter in diameter, and fill them with insulated 
copper wire. Next, slip these spools on the legs of the 
bent rod, join the wire of the two spools, and we shall have an 
electro-magnet very much like some in use on telegraph lines. 
Both spools should be wound in the same direction, ana in 
joining them, both inside, or both outside ends of the wires, 
should be firmly twisted together, after the silk covering has 
been removed for a short distance, and the ends of the wires 
have been brightened. If one inside should be connected with 
one outside end, the current through one helix would neutral¬ 
ize the effect of the other helix, so that no magnet would be 
produced. In such a case, a current through either half of the 
wire would magnetize the iron, but not when passed through 
both helices. 

THE KEY. 

For stopping and starting the current on a wire, or, in tele¬ 
graphic phrase, opening and closing circuit , instead of holding 
the two ends of a wire in the hands and striking them together, 
the key, a device for a more convenient, rapid and uniform 
movement, is thus arranged : A movable metallic lever, m, 
Fig. 4, on an arbor, is supported by screws in the elevated 
sides of a metallic base, b. Directly beneath m, is another piece 
of metal, a, which is separated from b by some non-conductor 
(usually vulcanized rubber.) On the top and in the centre of 
a is fastened a small piece of platinum wire, and directly above 
on the lever, m, is another piece of the same metal. A screw 
enters the base at d , and serves to fasten the key firmly to the 
table, and, at the same time, hold one end of the wire to be op¬ 
erated. In the same manner another one screws into a, to help 
bind the key to the table, and hold the other end of the wire. 
Now, as a is insulated from b. the current cannot pass from one 
to the other, except while m is pressed down, bringing togeth- 


34 


smith’s manual 


er the two platinum points, which are, in reality, the two ends 
ot the wire. As a light spring, under m, is nearly always em¬ 
ployed, keeping the platinum points separated whenever the 
hand leaves the key, a circuit closer , c, is added. This is a 
movable brass arm screwed to the base, so that it can slide un¬ 
der a lip on a, thus keeping a and b electrically connected 
while the key is not in use. When either m or c touches a, 
the key and circuit are said to be closed. Both must be away 
from a in order to open or break circuit. The back end of m is 
furnished with a screw for regulating the amount of movement 
which the lever is desired to have. The finger piece of both 
ever and circuit closer, is of some non-conductor, to protect 
the operator from receiving an electric shock from the wire to 
which the key is attached. 


OF TELEGRAPHY. 


35 



The Morse system of communication does not consist in the 
manner in which the line is built, nor in the kind of battery 
used on it, as all systems are alike in these respects ; but it de¬ 
pends on the method of applying the current to the magnets, 
the appurtenances of the magnets, and the peculiar mode of 
causing one current to operate others. 

If a magnet, such as last described, be placed in New York, 
and one end of the wire connected with the earth by means of 
some good conductor, and from the other end of the magnet 
wire, another one of sufficient length be extended to Wash* 
ington—care being taken to have it touch nothing but insula¬ 
tors between the two cities—and this long wire attached to one 
pole of a powerful galvanic battery, the other pole of which is 
connected with the ground by a third wire, the iron of the 
magnet in New York will be very sensibly affected by the bat¬ 
tery in Washington. If we now take a piece of iron long 
enough to cover the poles of the magnet, and bring it near 
them, we will find it to be drawn towards the magnet with a 
very appreciable force. 

We will produce an instrument like a portion of the Morse, 
by fastening the magnet, m : Fig. 5, to a dry and finished piece 
of board, b : joining the second piece of iron, a, to a small 
brass bar, and supporting this bar on pivots also fastened to 
the wooden base in such a position as to bring the iron near the 
poles of the magnet. This iron and the brass bar to which it 
is attached, must be free to move towards and from the poles 
of the magnet. This movable portion is known as the arma¬ 
ture. The distance through which the armature moves is reg¬ 
ulated by two brass posts running up from the base, one of 
them checking the motion towards the magnet, and the other 
limiting the reverse movement; or, two adjustable screws sup¬ 
ported by one post, are most frequently employed, in which case 
it is necessary that the point of the screw checking the back- 


36 SMtra'fc Sandal 

ward movement, be made of some insulating body. As repre¬ 
sented in the Fig., every place to which a wire is to be attach¬ 
ed, is furnished with a binding-screw. By attaching to the 
armature a light spiral spring pulling in a direction from the 
magnet, this portion of the instrument is made ready to note 
electric pulsations. The attractive power of the magnet must, 
however, overcome the force of the spring. 

Now let the wire in Washington be broken, and the magnet 
in New York will instantly lose its magnetic properties, and, in 
consequence, the spiral spring will pull the armature back. On 
joining the wire again in Washington, the magnet is simulta¬ 
neously charged, drawing the armature forward. If the open¬ 
ing and closing of the wire be done after the manner of tele¬ 
graphic characters, the armature in New York will, at the same 
instant, click out the same letters, so that a sound operator will 
understand them with the greatest ease. 

Such a line may be cut in Philadelphia, and the two ends 
thus made, be joined to another apparatus precisely as in New 
York, when both instruments will be alike operated, and at the 
same moment In like manner and with like results, other in¬ 
struments may be placed in Baltimore and Washington, and at 
as many intermediate points as may be desired. The wire may 
be opened and closed at any other station, as well as at Wash¬ 
ington. The simultaneous working of all the magnets connect¬ 
ed with the line will be effected by breaking and re-establish¬ 
ing the continuity of the wire at any point on the route ; and 
this is, as has already been anticipated, done by means of the 
key. 

By reference to the remarks on batteries, it will be under¬ 
stood why the ends of the line were connected w T ith the ground 
at New York and Washington. The battery was located at 
the latter place, and, as no current could go to New York 
without returning to the same battery, we either had to put up 
a second wire for this purpose, or allow the current to return 
through the earth, which proves to be better than a return wire, 
saying nothing of the difference in expense. 

Although a. battery at Washington will work a line from 
that place to the metropolis, a second battery at the latter city 


OF TELEGRAPHY, 


37 

will improve tlie working, and a third placed at Philadelphia 
might, sometimes, be an advantage. Every office, however, 
must have a key to send messages with, and a magnet with 
which to receive them. 

Again ; tracing out a line from New York to Washington 
having four offices on it, one in each of these two cities, and al¬ 
so in Philadelphia and Baltimore, commencing at the earth in 
the first named city we find: a wire running from the earth up 
into the office and connecting with one pole of a galvanic bat¬ 
tery ; then from the other pole of the battery, another wire 
running into one of the binding-screws of the key ; a third wire 
then extending from the other binding-screw of the key to one 
end of the wire of the magnet; and from the other end of the 
magnet wire, a fourth wire running out of the building at the top 
of the window, and passing along the route-supported all the way 
on insulators fastened to poles, to keep the current from pass¬ 
ing down to the ground—until the wire reaches Philadelphia, 
where it enters that office, runs through the magnet and key pre¬ 
cisely as in New’ York, and again emerges from the window r . 
The passage of the line through Baltimore and Washington is 
nothing but a repetition of wffiat has taken place in the first two 
cities. In the last named city, the line, after joining key, mag¬ 
net and battery, connects with the earth, the earth joining both 
ends and completing the circuit. 

As any one break anywhere in the circuit completely checks 
all of the current throughout the wffiole line, it follows that all 
keys must be shut except the one sending a message. There¬ 
fore, two dispatches cannot he sent over one voire at the same time. % 

All wire used within offices is of copper. Iron is used for 
the line wire, on account of its superior strength and greater 
cheapness. 

It is not at all necessary to connect the different parts of the 
apparatus in the order just described. In passing a line through 
an office in which are a battery, key and magnet, it matters not 
in the least, which of them is the first, second or third to 
be connected ; the only requisite being, that they be joined one 
after another; for place the key where you will in the circuit, 
it will do its labor of starting and stopping the entire current; 


38 


smith’s manual 

the magnet, situated at any point on the line, will be operated; 
and the battery will send its current over the whole line, if 
only properly connected at any place. Neither does it make 
an}' difference which way the current passes through the key 
or magnet. The reversal of the current through the magnet 
reverses the poles, but the polarity of the armature is likewise 
reversed, so that the working of the magnet remains un- 
changed. 

All such questions as, “Does a message have to be forward¬ 
ed at every office it is to pass ?’’ “Which way does a dispatch 
go over a line ?” and “What is the method of sending in differ¬ 
ent directions?” should be satisfactorily answered by the fact 
that, when a line is in a normal condition, every key in the 
same circuit, always operates every machine situated in it, at 
the same instant and in the same, manner. * 

MAIN AND LOCAL CIRCUITS. 

A line of telegraph as thus far represented, is not a very ef¬ 
ficient one ; and is it not the Morse system complete. Although 
powerful batteries be used on such a line, the great resistance 
offered by so many miles of wire, reduces the strength of the 
current to such an extent, that but a weak magnet can be pro¬ 
duced. The motion communicated to the armature of the 
magnet, is too feeble to properly mark paper, or to give as sat- 
a sound as can be obtained by the addition of other * 
batteries and machines in a certain manner. 

The armature of the magnet, having a motion precisely like 
that of the key, is converted into one, and used to operate 
another magnet, Fig. 6, supplied with a current from another 

* It is not known whether electricity is a material substance or merely a prop¬ 
erty of matter ; and any opinion as to whether its transmission be in the form 
of a current, by • vibrations or otherwise, is sheer speculation. It is simply 
known that an effect travels with inconceivable rapidity, and seemingly in both 
directions. 

Professor Faraday, in speaking on the nature of electricity before the British 
Association for the Advancement of Science, Thus expressed his views: “There 
was a time when I thought I knew something about the matter ; but the longer 
I live, and the more carefully I study the subject, the more convinced I am of 
my total ignorance of the nature of electricity.” 

When as great an electrician and profound a philosopher as the world has pro¬ 
duced, anives atsuch a conclusion, thestudent must regard all terms seeming 
to indicate any form or motion of electricity r as nothing more than convenient 
expressions. 




OF TELEGRAPHY. 


39 


battery, Fig. 3. To accomplish this, a battery, Fig. 3, is sta¬ 
tioned in the office, usually quite near the instrument, and from 
one pole of it, a wire, ?i, is run to the bottom of the armature 
of the magnet already described, Fig. 5, and from the brass 
post which checks the armature in its motion towards the mag¬ 
net; a second wire, o, is connected with another magnet, Fig. 
6 , and this magnet is, with a third wire, d , joined to the other 
pole of the battery from which the first wire was started. Thus 
a new and very short circuit is formed of the extra battery, the 
extra magnet, and the armature of the first magnet. This short, 
side or independent circuit, represented by red lines, is wholly 
confined to the office, and is called the local circuit. Fig. 6 is a 
sounder , or in case a register is used, it simply takes the place 
of the sounder, and is connected in the same manner. Main 
circuit is the name given to the one shown in black lines. The 
main circuit is the line itself, of which the earth forms one half. 
The batteries have the same name as the circuits to which they 
are attached. The map exhibits no main battery, and does not 
represent the different parts located precisely as they are to be 
found in an office, but it shows their exact relations, or how 
they are connected. The local battery is generally placed un¬ 
der the table on which the instruments rest, and only enough 
of the ends of the wires for connecting the different parts, are 
allowed to come up through the table. 

It must be distinctly understood, that the main and the local 
currents never touch each other; and that the local exerts no 
influence whatever on the main. The only substances which 
are in contact with the two circuits, are the air and the wooden 
base, b , Fig. 5, and both of these are non-conductors. The arma¬ 
ture, «, Fig. 5, closes the local circuit by striking the screw 
above the magnet. That these two points may keep bright 
and make a good connection, they are made of platinum the 
same as those of the key; but the tip of the other screw is of 
some non-conductor, so that the current cannot pass over it 
when the armature is drawn back by the spring. This arma¬ 
ture is simply the key that operates the local circuit, aod it 
may be moved back and forth by the finger without in the 
least affecting the line. 


40 


smith’s manual 

Fig. 5, represents the portion of the Morse apparatus 
known as the receiving magnet , because it is the first thing af¬ 
fected by the electric pulsations on the line. Relay is the name 
by which it is known among operators generally. By the map 
it is seen that every key and relay magnet is situated in the 
main circuit; and that every relay armature has a local battery 
and a sounder or register attached to it. The key operates the 
relay magnet; the relay magnet operates the armature (by at¬ 
tracting without touching it;) and the armature works the 
sounder or register in the same manner that the key affects the 
relay. The movement of the armature is feeble, but powerful 
enough to open and close the local, which, on account of the little 
resistance in so few feet of wire, operates the sounder with 
many times the force of the armature. 

The binding-screws fastening the wires, o, ?i, to the relay, are 
permanently connected with the armature and post by wires 
beneath the base. 












































































































- * 

! • 








IV 






















OF TELEGRAPHY. 


41 


P»»agwiwttt of gftt^tMttte, Jftfatji wl 

GROUND WIRES. 

If, to a line from New York to Washington having a main 
battery at the latter place only, some conducting substance be 
joined, and then connected with the earth, as at Philadelphia, 
the current will pass over this conductor and return to Wash¬ 
ington, and no electricity will reach New York to operate that 
instrument. All machines between the conductor in question 
and W ashington, will be worked. Such a wire is named the 
ground wire; and every intermediate office is supplied with one, 
to be used only in case of trouble on the line. Where gas or 
water pipes enter an office, the ground wire is attached to them. 
Stations not having this excellent means of ground connection ( 
fasten a wire to a plate or rod of metal, and bury the piece of 
metal so that it is always in contact with moist earth. 

If Philadelphia puts his ground wire in contact with the line 
south of his instrument, and there is a main battery at each 
end of the line, the currents from both batteries will go only to 
this ground wire, and passing over it, to or from the earth as 
the case may be, will return again to their respective batteries. 
During this state of things, the current from New York reach¬ 
ing the Philadelphia machine, these two offices can communi¬ 
cate with each other. The current from Washington not quite 
reaching the instrument at Philadelphia, does not permit the 
latter city to hold communication with any office south of it • 
but Baltimore and Washington can work together at the same 
time that New York and Philadelphia do. The ground 
wire divides the line into two independent circuits, and forms 
a common conductor for both currents, on the same principle 
that the earth forms one half of every main circuit. 


42 


SMITH’S MANUAL 

BREAKS. 


Let the line so break between Philadelphia and Baltimore 
that the ends fall on the ground, and two entirely distinct lines 
will be the result ; and offices on the same side of the break, 
will work with each other as if nothing had happened. Should 
the southern end of the break be so near a pole as to hang in 
the air, the circuit south of it would be left open, and Balti¬ 
more in order to work with Washington, would have to com¬ 
plete the circuit with his ground wire. Should he apply it 
south of his instrument, the current (from Washington) would 
pass over the ground wire before quite reaching his machine, 
and his inability to work would show trouble on the line north 
of him. 

The northern end of the break being on the earth, Philadel¬ 
phia does not use his ground wire to effect communication 
with New York, but his inability to raise either office south of 
him after repeated efforts, leads him to suspect some difficulty 
on the line. Then by applying his ground wire north of his 
instrument, he finds there is no current from the Washington 
battery. This simply shows him that the line is in some way 
connected with the earth between him and Washington, proba¬ 
bly north of Baltimore, because he cannot be raised ; but it 
by no means proves that the wire is broken. 

Should the circuit get open between the two points in an of¬ 
fice where the ground wire is applied, no current could be 
made to pass through that instrument by the use of the 
ground wire ; therefore, whenever an operator cannot get a 
current from either direction, he should carefully search this 
portion of the main circuit in his office for an opening in it. 

ESCAPES. 

In picturing a line and its workings thus far, it has been the 
supposition that when any of the current on a line is broken, 
all of it is ; and that the entire current always goes the whole 
length of the line. This is what is desired, but circumstances 
frequently render it impossible. Returning again to the same 


OF TELEGRAPHY. 


43 


line, and placing a wet rope or a stick of green wood so as to 
touch both the line and the earth at Philadelphia, we find that 
only a portion of the current passes through the rope or wood, 
while the remainder of it follows the entire length of the line. 

Now let New York open his key, and he will take from the 
line, all the current from his own battery, and that portion of 
the Washington current which does not pass over the poor 
conductor touching the line at Philadelphia : in other words, 
he will interrupt just what reaches his key. That from the 
south finding its way through the green wood, is still passing 
over the line from Philadelphia to Washington, and partially 
magnetizing the relays on this portion of the route, and keep¬ 
ing the local circuits closed when they are wanted to be open, 
unless the relay springs have sufficient tension to overcome 
the residual attraction. This leakage of the current from the 
line to the ground passes under the name of escape. Offices 
on the same side of an escape, can communicate with each 
other as usual, but it is difficult, and sometimes impossible, for 
an office on one side to receive writing from another station 
beyond the partial ground wire. Some lines are much annoyed 
in this manner by the interference of trees, and all lines are af¬ 
fected by rainy or foggy weather. In wet weather, every pole 
and insulator becomes a feeble conductor and, perhaps, the air 
itself, thus offering so many inducements for the current to run 
down to the earth, that sometimes it cannot be made to go over 
fifty miles from the battery and, of course, a dispatch can be 
sent no greater distance. 

. If Washington, testing an escape to determine its location 
has Baltimore open his key, and then he (Washington) tries to 
operate his own instrument, but cannot do so—because there is 
no current left on that end of the line—he knows the escape 
to be north of Baltimore. Now if Baltimore closes his key, 
and the one in Philadelphia is opened, and Washington finds 
that he can work his own machine, or, perhaps, communicate 
with Baltimore, it proves an escape to exist between Baltimore 
and Philadelphia, Again ; if Washington finds a little current 
left on the line while Baltimore is open, and a still stronger one 
while Philadelphia has his key open, it shows an escape in two 


44 


smith’s MANUAL 

places. To clearly understand the ill effects of escapes, it must 
be borne in mind, that sending is a systematic putting on and 
taking off of the current; the cessation being equally as im¬ 
portant as the continuance of it. Anything preventing a cur¬ 
rent from passing on the line, is no more injurious than that 
which will not allow it to be interrupted. The portion of the 
current which can be broken, is all that any use is made of: 
all the escape is not only of no utility, but it is a real hindrance 
to an advantageous emplo 3 mient of that remaining on the line. 

It sometimes happens that the operating table becomes wet. 
or is made of wood only partly seasoned, so that a portion of 
the main current finds a passage through the moisture of the 
table while the key on it is open. This does not conduct any 
of the current to the earth, and cannot, therefore, be properly 
called an escape, though every relay in circuit with a key on a 
moist table, must have a high adjustment to receive the writing 
from such key. This trouble, however, does not in the least 
interfere with such office in receiving from other stations, nor 
does it at. all affect other offices in working with one another. 


CROSSES. 

Another annoyance of very frequent occurrence on some 
lines having two or more wires on the same poles, are “cross¬ 
es’' or contact of the different line wires with each other,which, 
so far as their utility is concerned, reduces to one wire all the 
wires thus joined. Each wire crossed acts as a long ground 
wire to the others in contact with it. Suppose two wires, des¬ 
ignated by Nos. 1 and 2, running on the same poles from New 
York to Washington, to be-twisted together between Philadel¬ 
phia and Baltimore. Next suppose No. 1 to be left open in 
New York, and No. 2 in Washington. Now, commencing at- 
New York on No. 2, which is closed, and tracing southward 
over this wire until the cross is reached, and from that point 
over No. 1 to the southern terminus, we find a complete cir¬ 
cuit, though both wires are open; consequently, Washington 
and Baltimore on No. 1, can work with Philadelphia and New 
Yo?k on No, 2. If Washington keeps both wires closed. New 


OF TELEGRAPHY. 


46 


York or Philadelphia can operate ooth wires south of the cross, 
by leaving either wire open and writing on the other; because 
the one wire north of the cross becomes a common conductor 
for both south of it. This is one mode for detecting and loca* 
ting a cross. Another method is for New York to ask Phil a* 
delphia to try him on* No. 2, with No. 1 open, while New 
York, doing just the reverse, tries Philadelphia on No. 1, with 
No. 2 open; and if they can work with each other on different 
wires, it shows those wires to be crossed between them. If 
they cannot get each other, New York tries the same thing 
with Baltimore, and so on until he gets to an office with which 
he can work on a different wire. This test determines the cross 
to be between such office and the first one from that station to* 
wards New York. When several wires become tangled, and 
at different places on the line, the task of locating becomes 
much more lengthy and difficult, on account of first getting the 
different offices to test with. 

If, instead of opening one wire, New York or Philadelphia 
• should try to work one of them with the other closed, he would 
operate only that ©ne wire north of the cross, for the other 
wire north and the two south of it would still form a perfect 
circuit The same principle holds true for any number of wires 
so joined : all but one being useless so long as they remain to* 
together, or at least between the two offices nearest the cross, 
and between which the cross is situated. In case of a cross of 
two wires between Philadelphia and Baltimore, it is necessary 
to leave one of them open only between these two cities. These 
offices may open No. 2, so that New York and Washington 
may communicate over No. I. Then Philadelphia may put 
his ground wire on No. 2, leaving it open south of the ground, 
and work with New York, while Baltimore, in a similar man¬ 
ner, communicates with Washington. 

REVERSED CURRENTS. 

If on a line from New York to Washington two main batter- 
ies be placed, with both positive or both negative poles con 
nccted with the earth, no current will pass over the line, 


46 


smith’s manual 
. < 

though .the circuit is complete ; for each battery will oppose 
the other, stopping all galvanic action. With the batteries 
thus located, let Philadelphia or Baltimore put his ground wire 
on in either direction; and he will get a current; for the ground 
wire divides the line into two distinct circuits, each of which will 
operate without interfering with the other. This is the only 
case in which there can be a current each way with a ground 
wire on, and no current with it oft. 

An intermediate station wishing to connect a main battery 
to the line, first finds out from some office already having one, 
the direction of the poles of his battery ; but the same thing 
mav be determined in other wavs. 

When the current from a powerful battery is passed through 
the arms of an individual, a greater shock is experienced in 
the arm connected directly with the zinc or negative pole, than 
in the other. 

If a circuit be opened and both ends of the break dipped 
into water, decomposition of the water will ensue, and the 
greatest volume of gas will rise from the wire leading directly 
to the negative pole. Therefore, the positive pole of another 
battery required to be put in circuit, must be connected to 
the wire giving the greatest shock, or evolving the most gas. 

ADJUSTMENT AND CARE OF INSTRUMENTS. 

The distance through which the armature of the relay should 
move, is very small; say equal to once the thickness of good 
writing paper. Magnets always retain more or less attraction, 
even when the circuit is perfectly broken, so that the spring on 
the armature must always have some tension, and a great deal 
more during a humid atmosphere, than while the air is clear and 
dry. This tempering of the relay spring according to the amount 
of magnetism while a key is open, is adjusting; and it is high or 
low, as the force of the spring is great or small. This duly is 
the most important one connected with the management of instru¬ 
ments. It not only wants to be done several times a day under 
the most favorable circumstances, but, from a few times daily, 
the frequency increases until the operator must keep hold of 


OF TELEGRAPHY. 


47 


the screw, s , Fig. 5, regulating the spring, turning first one 
way and then the other, nearly all the time he is either sending 
or receiving. Sometimes the slightest variation from a certain 
point, in either direction, will cause the instrument to cease 
working. Under such circumstances, adjusting is very diffi¬ 
cult ; but m a large majority of instances it requires only the 
memory and the will to do it. The tempering of the relay 
spring is also perplexing, as well as is the location of the 
trouble difficult, when a cross or an escape is a “swinging” one ; 
that is, when a wire keeps swinging against another or against 
a tree, but remaining in contact only a short time. 

Thunder-storms vary the current over a line so suddenly and 
to such a degree, as to cause the most difficult adjustment, at 
times rendering transmission utterly impossible, besides endan¬ 
gering the wire of the relay magnet, which is sometimes burn¬ 
ed with a flash accompanied by a sharp report. 

The Aurora.Borealis sometimes influences the wire in a sim¬ 
ilar manner, but less violently, never causing any harm other 
than a suspension of business. Several forms of lightning ar¬ 
resters have been made and used for conducting atmospheric 
electricity from the line to the earth. It matters but little 
•whether it is led to the ground or not, if it is only diverted 
from the relay magnet. Every operator can make one of twe 
pieces of wire and a vial of water. A short piece of wire (six 
inches long) considerably larger than that in the relay magnet, 
run from each main circuit binding-screw of the relay, and the 
ends dipped into a small bottle of water, forms one of the best 
protections against lightning. The distance of the wires from 
each other in the water, as also their depth in it, may be varied, 
but they must not be allowed to come together. Water being 
a poor conductor of galvanic electricity, only a small portion 
of the current will pass through it, the larger part choosing 
the magnet wire ; but atmospheric electricity, being possessed 
of enormous intensity, prefers the short water route. None of 
these devices, however, are an absolute safeguard, but during a 
severe thunder storm relays should be disconnected from the 
line, and in such a manner as to leave no break in the main 
circuit. 


48 


smith’s manual 


The local circuit, being confined to the office, is subject to 
none of the fluctuations of the main. The local battery sim* 
ply grows weak by use, when it has to be renewed. The 
spring on the arm of the local (sounder or register) magnet, 
merely requires weakening, as the battery working it becomes 
exhausted. The iron part of this arm must never come so near 
the poles of the magnet that one thickness of ordinary writing 
paper will not pass between them. If permitted to touch, the 
magnet discharges slowly. The same truth applies to the re¬ 
lay magnet and its armature. 

The platinum points of the key, and more frequently those 
of the armature of the relay, burned and roughened by the cur¬ 
rent, sometimes fail to break circuit. The remedy is to rub 
them gently with a very fine file, or draw between them a slip 
of clean paper. 

If a relay “sticks,” (fails to break circuit) it troubles only the 
. office where that relay is located. If a key sticks, it interferes 
with both sender and receiver. 



OF TELEGRAPHY 












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